Here's what we covered today
• Travel chaos: The FAA has ordered a 4% reduction in flights tomorrow, starting at 6 a.m. ET. Anticipating the order, airlines had already canceled hundreds of flights after the Trump administration warned it would happen unless a deal was reached to end the government shutdown.
• Democrats take stand: A resolution appears no closer after Senate Democrats signaled today they were prepared to block GOP plans to force a vote tomorrow — until they got more commitments on dealing with rising health care costs.
• SNAP ruling: Meanwhile, a federal judge in Rhode Island said the administration must fully cover food stamp benefits for tens of millions of Americans that were halted due to the shutdown.
Our live coverage of the government shutdown and its impact on US air travel has wrapped for the day. Please scroll through the posts below for all the details.
Vance says admin is working to fund food stamps but won't do it "under the orders of a federal judge"
Vice President JD Vance on Thursday defended the Trump administration’s handling of food assistance during the ongoing government shutdown, saying Democrats need to reopen the government to restore full funding.
He pushed back against a federal judge’s order that the administration must fully fund food stamp benefits for November, saying the White House will act on its own terms, during a dinner with Central Asian leaders at the East Room of the White House.
“It’s an absurd ruling, because you have a federal judge effectively telling us what we have to do in the midst of a Democrat government shutdown, which what we’d like to do is for the Democrats to open up the government,” Vance said. ” Of course, then we can fund SNAP, and we can also do a lot of other good things for the American people. “
“But in the midst of a shutdown, we can’t have a federal court telling the president how he has to triage the situation,” Vance continued, adding that the administration is “trying to keep as much going as possible.”
“The president and the entire administration are working on that, but we’re not going to do it under the orders of a federal judge. We’re going to do it according to what we think we have to do to comply with the law, of course,” the vice president said.
25 staffing problems reported at FAA air traffic control facilities on the eve of mandated flight cuts
Air traffic control facilities reported staffing problems that required action to keep planes flying safely 25 times today, the day before the Federal Aviation Administration mandates that airlines start cutting flights to some of the nation’s busiest airports.
The staffing issues caused delays averaging more than 30 minutes at Dallas-Fort Worth, more than an hour at Chicago’s O’Hare, more than 2 hours at Ronald Reagan Washington National, and more than three hours at Newark International Airport.
Air traffic control towers were short-staffed at Chicago’s Midway and O’Hare International, Dallas-Fort Worth International, Nashville International, Reagan National, and San Francisco International Airport.
TRACONS, which handle flights approaching or departing airports, did not have the normal complement of controllers at Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, and Newark.
Centers, which control flights at high altitude, were short-staffed in Atlanta, Cleaveland, Kansas City, Indianapolis, New York, and Washington, DC.
Several facilities had multiple staffing shortages in divergent areas or at different times during the day.
Since the start of the shutdown there have been 450 staffing problems reported, more than four times the number seen on the same days last year.
Citing "stress in the system," FAA orders a 4% cut to flights tomorrow with further reductions in days to come
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a 4% reduction in flight operations at airports tomorrow, starting at 6 a.m. ET, according to an emergency order that just released moments ago.
It also provided a timeline for further reductions:
- Up to 6% by November 11
- Up to 8% by November 13
- Up to 10% by November 14
Airlines will decide which flights to cut and some have already preemptively canceled hundreds of flights tomorrow as the Trump administration was expected to begin reducing air travel if no deal is reached to end the government shutdown.
Airlines will be required to refund passengers, but not cover other costs like hotels, which the FAA notes it the normal procedure when an airline is not at fault for a delay or cancellation.
Slowdown of air traffic expected when there are staffing shortages, union president says
The Federal Aviation Administration’s move to cut air traffic starting tomorrow is on par with what has happened in the past when there are staffing shortages, but this time, it is happening on “a grander scale,” the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants said.
She said the flight cancelations coming tomorrow and into the weekend are more widespread than the FAA slowing traffic at just one airport at a time.
Nelson warned that with the shutdown impasse ongoing, she believes “things are going to continue to slow down.”
Still, she said, Americans have been aware that federal aviation employees are working without pay. Today, people in the TSA line were “yelling out to other passengers” to be nice to the agents, she said.
Democratic senator says elections showed voters “want us to stand up for what we believe in" amid shutdown
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy on Thursday said the party’s sweeping wins in this week’s elections sent a clear message amid the government shutdown – stand up for what you believe in.
“I think there’s a real gravity to what happened on Tuesday. The electorate spoke really clearly,” Murphy said. “It was mostly a referendum on Trump’s corruption and chaos, but voters were telling Democrats they want us to stand up for what we believe in, and they want us to use our power to try to keep costs down.”
Murphy did not divulge any specific details from Senate Democrats’ lunchtime strategy session on Thursday, when the party deliberated over an emerging deal that some of its members have been negotiating with Republicans to reopen the government. But he told reporters he hopes Democrats are unified moving forward.
“Hopefully we’ll have some unity in the caucus as we head into these important post-election discussions,” he said.
GOP leaders are planning to hold votes to reopen the government Friday.
GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota sounded resigned to the possibility that Democrats would still oppose Republicans’ plans.
Rounds told reporters, “The real issue here is, is whether or not they will release enough Democrats to actually vote for it. My suspicion is, is that they’re not ready to do that yet.”
Murphy maintained that Republicans must negotiate with Democrats on health care to end the stalemate.
Asked what it would take for him to get to a yes, Murphy told reporters, “A negotiation. I mean, there’s really only one story, which is that the Republicans and Donald Trump refused to negotiate with Democrats.”
As airlines cancel hundreds of flights from tomorrow, here's what some travelers are saying
Flight disruptions across the country are impacting Americans amid the longest government shutdown in US history.
Even before airlines said they would cancel flights tomorrow after guidance from the Federal Aviation Authority, the shutdown caused delays at many airports over the past month due to short-staffing of air traffic controllers, who are not being paid during the shutdown.
Here’s what some travelers had to say:
Heather Boesch’s flight to Boston was canceled after being delayed. And while she’s since been rebooked on a later flight, she noted that that trip too has been delayed and that she is considering “other options.”
She told CNN’s Danny Freeman that when she got the news of her initial fight’s cancellation, she began to “immediately start running through a lot of scenarios” including whether or not she would rent a car, book a hotel for the night, or notify her family that she wouldn’t make it home for dinner.
And she isn’t alone.
Traveler Julie Charnet told CNN that she’s waiting to see if the government reopens before buying travel tickets for the upcoming holidays.
She added that “it’s a godsend” that her flight is leaving tonight rather than tomorrow, when airlines across the country are set to cancel hundreds of flights.
“I have to be able to get back to work. I work at a hospital and I have to be able to get to work,” she said.
Priscilla Dee is playing “the waiting game” to see whether her United flight to Boston tomorrow afternoon will be cancelled.
The San Jose, California, resident is set to fly from San Francisco for her niece’s Christian dedication but the cancellations have her on edge.
CNN’s Jordan D. Brown contributed reporting.
Senate rejects effort to block unauthorized US military action against Venezuela
The Senate on Thursday rejected a bipartisan resolution seeking to stop the Trump administration from taking military action against Venezuela without congressional approval.
The resolution, led by Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine, Adam Schiff and GOP Sen. Rand Paul, failed, 49 to 51. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski joined Paul and Democrats to vote for the resolution.
President Donald Trump confirmed last month that he authorized the CIA to operate inside Venezuela to clamp down on illegal flows of migrants and drugs from the South American nation. The Trump administration has also conducted military strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. Additionally, the administration has been steadily massing troops and military assets in the Caribbean.
Speaking with reporters ahead of the vote, Schiff on Thursday contended that the US military buildup in the region is “much more about potential regime change” than trying to halt small boats allegedly smuggling drugs.
“And if that’s where the administration is headed, if that’s what we’re risking and along with it a war, then Congress needs to be heard on this. And this resolution gives Congress the power to say, if you think regime change is called for, then you need to come to Congress and say so,” he argued.
CNN has reported that Trump administration officials told lawmakers on Wednesday that the US is not currently planning to launch strikes inside Venezuela and doesn’t have a legal justification that would support attacks against any land targets right now.
Kaine suggested that there could be another war powers resolution drawn up related to Nigeria after Trump ordered the Pentagon to prepare for possible military action in the country. “We may well contemplate that once we’re through with this vote,” Kaine told reporters earlier Thursday.
The Senate has previously rejected resolutions aimed at compelling Trump to seek congressional approval for strikes on the alleged drug trafficking ships in the Caribbean and, separately, strikes on Iran.
It could be a messy travel day tomorrow. Here's the latest on the planned flight cuts
If you’re just joining us, Delta, Southwest and United Airlines are among the airlines that have preemptively canceled some flights as the Trump administration plans to begin reducing air travel tomorrow if no deal is reached to end the government shutdown.
Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced yesterday that airlines would be required to cut 10% of flights at 40 of the country’s major airports.
Today, airlines tell CNN they have been told to cut 4% of flights at those airports, effective tomorrow. Each day the shutdown continues the total flights canceled would increase by 1%, until it reaches 10% next week.
President Donald Trump said he believes air travel is safe, saying “that’s why” the Federal Aviation Administration is set to reduce flights.
Meanwhile, a top air traffic controller union leader says the industry is experiencing unprecedented resignations as workers received another $0 paycheck today.
Here’s more on where things stand:
- What airlines are saying: Delta, United and American are waiving fees for travelers who want to cancel or change their upcoming flights. Meanwhile, Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle recommended passengers who are flying with the airline over the next 10 10 days book a “backup ticket on another carrier.”
- Daily resignations: “Controllers are resigning every day now because of the prolonged nature of the shutdown. We hadn’t seen that before. And we’re also 400 controllers short — shorter than we were in the 2019 shutdown,” Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association told CNN. Daniels also acknowledged that controllers are still experiencing levels of “hopelessness” as they continue to work without pay.
- What this means for holiday travel: Travelers should expect there to be residual impacts as the holiday season approaches, even after the government reopens. “It will take us months to come out of all the impacts that it’s causing,” Daniels said.
And here’s a look at which airports could be impacted tomorrow:
CNN’s Pete Muntean, Aaron Cooper and Holly Yan contributed to this report, which was updated with the latest information on how many flights will be canceled tomorrow.
Democrats expected to block GOP push to reopen government without more health care commitments
Senate Democrats signaled they were prepared to block GOP plans to force a Friday vote to reopen the government — until they got more commitments on dealing with rising health care costs.
A top Senate Democrat said Thursday night that the GOP’s latest funding plan would fall short if it comes to the floor on Friday, signaling another major complication after days of intense talks.
Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii said enough of his colleagues opposed proceeding with the GOP’s plan - which emerged in part with input from Democratic centrists.
“I think it’s fair to say that the caucus is obviously not unanimous, but we’re pretty unified in the position that without something on health care, that the vote is very unlikely to succeed tomorrow,” Schatz said.
There are still some divisions in the party and one Senate Democratic source said the vote would likely fail but could pick up some additional Democratic votes. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is up for reelection in Georgia next year, has privately been talking about his concerns with federal workers in his state — including huge airport hubs and the CDC - missing another paycheck, another source said.
Even some Senate Democratic centrists involved in the talks have expressed frustration with the lack of progress.
“We don’t know what it is,” Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware said, when asked about what the Senate may be voting on Friday. He added: “There is still no finished product. We’ve been talking for days but there is no product.”
Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, too, said he wouldn’t answer how he’s going to vote because he doesn’t know what the vote is.
“I think that you’ll see how we vote when we get there tomorrow, but I can tell you that leader Thune isn’t doing himself any favor by not coming to the table to discuss those tens of millions of people who are about to have to make the difficult choice of choosing their rent or their health care,” Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada said.
Airlines are being told to cut flights starting tomorrow. Here’s what that means for you
Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced yesterday that airlines would be required to cut 10% of flights at 40 of the country’s major airports if the shutdown was not resolved by Friday.
Most airlines have canceled the required flights for tomorrow and passengers should receive automatic notifications, or can check airline websites to confirm details this evening.
The cancelations tomorrow will impact airlines like a busy weather day, one airline official told CNN. Unlike a storm however, they will be spread across multiple cities as opposed to a geographic region.
American cancels about 220 flights per day, starting tomorrow through Monday
American Airlines is now the latest airline to cancel a portion of its flights tomorrow, ahead of a Federal Aviation Administration cut of air traffic.
The airline told CNN that it has reduced it schedule from Friday through Monday by 4% at 40 airports. That is about 220 canceled flights per day, American spokesperson Sarah Jantz said.
United, Delta and Southwest also preemptively canceled some flights for tomorrow.
Southwest Airlines cancels around 100 flights scheduled for Friday
Southwest Airlines is canceling around 100 flights that were scheduled for tomorrow, a spokesperson told CNN.
Federal judge orders Trump administration to make full November SNAP payments
A federal judge in Rhode Island said Thursday that the Trump administration must fully cover food stamp benefits for tens of millions of Americans in November.
The order from US District Judge John McConnell comes days after the administration, in response to an earlier order from him, said it would provide only partial food stamp benefits for November by tapping into some $4.65 billion in a contingency fund maintained by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps.
But McConnell said during a hastily called hearing that the government had not worked quickly enough to release the funds pursuant to the requirements of his earlier order and that the government had acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” when it decided earlier this week that it would not provide the full benefits this month.
Under McConnell’s new ruling, the government must tap into billions of additional dollars held by the US Department of Agriculture in a separate pot of money so full SNAP benefits can be paid. The judge said those payments needed to be made to states, which administer the program, by Friday.
Nearly 42 million Americans receive food stamps. Payments are made on a staggered basis over the course of a month.
Delta Airlines cancels around 170 flights scheduled for Friday
Delta Airlines is preemptively canceling round 170 regional and mainline flights that were scheduled on Friday, the carrier told CNN.
More regional flights will be canceled, Delta said.
Democrats unclear on whether they’ll back emerging funding compromise
Senate Democrats emerged from a critical party strategy session on Thursday refusing to say if they’d support an emerging deal to reopen the government – only agreeing that they’re unified about health care.
The tight-lipped responses from roughly a dozen Democratic senators leaving the meeting raise major questions about the path forward on a deal to end the already 37-day shutdown.
An upbeat Michigan Sen. Gary Peters would not divulge any details about Democrats’ next steps.
“We had a really good caucus meeting. I think we’re very unified on a number of items, and we’re going to continue to work going forward,” Peters said. Asked whether this could all wrap this weekend, he said: “I would hope so. It’s up to the Republicans, but I hope so.”
Asked whether Democrats were unified in favor of the emerging proposal or against it, New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen said only: “No, I think it’s something that everybody wants to extend the premium tax credits.”
GOP leaders are planning to hold votes as soon as Friday on the potential deal, which includes a short-term stopgap bill and a three-bill package of full year appropriations to fund key agencies.
Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana emerged from the GOP Senate lunch telling reporters that he expects the Senate to be in session tomorrow to again vote on reopening the government, with additional votes to fund select federal agencies.
GOP senator says Senate expected to be in session tomorrow, compares state of negotiations to "roadkill"
GOP Sen. John Kennedy emerged from the GOP Senate lunch telling reporters that he expects the Senate to be in session tomorrow to hold votes related to reopening the government with additional votes related to funding select federal agencies.
Republican leadership has not yet announced the schedule for tomorrow and the situation may be somewhat fluid as lawmakers continue to try to find a way out of the ongoing impasse.
Kennedy said a Friday vote would help Republicans determine where Democrats are in the negotiations process. “We’ll find out how serious the Democrats are or not,” he said.
But likening the state of the negotiations to his old beagle named Roger who used to bring him roadkill, Kennedy was not optimistic.
Flight reductions are like “a giant snowstorm” that will impact countless people, GOP Rep. Steil says
We’re hearing from lawmakers about the Trump administration’s plan to cut flights at key hub airports tomorrow.
Republican Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, whose district is located near Milwaukee Airport, said there will be “chaos across the skies” the longer the shutdown stretches.
Steil is pushing for the passage of the clean continuing resolution that was given the rubber stamp by the Republicans in the House.
These are the 40 airports expected to see flight cuts tomorrow
The following is a list of airports that will see flights cut tomorrow by the FAA, as sent to airlines, according to an airline official.
- Northeast: Boston Logan International, New York LaGuardia, New York John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, Philadelphia International and Teterboro in New Jersey.
- Midwest: Indianapolis International, Chicago Midway, Chicago O’Hare International, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County, Louisville International and Minneapolis/St Paul International.
- South: Charlotte Douglas International, Dallas Love, Dallas/Fort Worth International, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Houston Hobby, George Bush Houston Intercontinental, Memphis International, Orlando International, Miami International and Tampa International.
- DC area: Baltimore/Washington International, Washington Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National.
- West: Denver International, Las Vegas McCarran International, Los Angeles International, Oakland International, Ontario International, Portland International, Phoenix Sky Harbor International, San Diego International, Seattle/Tacoma International, San Francisco International and Salt Lake City International.
- Hawaii and Alaska: Anchorage International and Honolulu International.
Trump says air traffic reductions are to ensure travel remains “100% safe”
President Donald Trump said Thursday he believes air travel is safe, saying “that’s why” the Federal Aviation Administration is set to reduce flights at dozens of major airports as early as Friday if no shutdown deal is reached.
“As (Transportation Secretary) Sean Duffy announced, they’re cutting in certain areas, 10%, and they want to make sure it’s 100% safe,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
Air traffic will be cut by 10% at 40 busy airports amid ongoing air traffic controller staffing shortages. More than 400 staffing shortages have been reported at FAA facilities since the start of the shutdown, according to a CNN analysis.
The Trump administration is also considering a 4% reduction in flights starting Friday — increasing by 1% each day the shutdown drags on — an airline official familiar with the proposal told CNN.
Earlier Thursday, when pressed on whether he would consider privatizing the Transportation Security Administration, Trump equivocated, saying, “I think of privatizing a lot of things,” before quickly defending government.
“But generally speaking, you know, you have government, and a lot of people don’t like privatizing,” the president said. “And sometimes government can be better.”
